Improvement in bee-hives



UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

T. F. BINGHAM, OF GOWANDA, NEW YORK.

IM P'R-O'VEM ENT IN BEE-H IVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.-59, 169, dated October30, 1866.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, T. F. BINGHAM, of Gowanda, in the county ofOattaraugus and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedBee-Hive; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in theart to make and Y. use the same, reference being had to t-heaccompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figurel is a transverse vertical section of my invention, taken in the line xa, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section oi' the same, takenin the line y y, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in a novel arrangement of the parts ot' a hive,as hereinafter -shown and described, whereby superior advantages areobtained in bee-culture, such as the separating of them into differentcompartments, as maybe required, so that each combframe may be inspectedseparately and manipulated as required, the hive divided to promoteswarming, 85e., the building of straight combs insured, and a uniformtemperature within the hive promoted.

A A represent.- the two walls of the hive which inclose the comb-framesB, and these walls' are lined with paper or pasteboard a, with anair-space, b, between, as'shown clearly in Figure l. rlhe walls A A restupon a suitable base, C, and the frames B are clamped between the wallsA A by a bar, c, at each side.

The comb-frames B are composed of three sides of a quadrangle, and theupper horizontal strips d of the frames are provided with a centralpendent bar, c, composed of'two slats connected by a central piece, andthe strip d is of diamond or oval form in its transverse section, andthe lower edge of the strip of each comb-frame has a waxed cord, f,attached to it. To the upper part of each comb-frame, by the side of itsstrip d, a piece of paper or pasteboard, g, is attached, extending thewhole length ofthe frames. These waxed cords and the paper strips insurethe buildin g of straight combs by the bees, the paper strips gextendingashort distance below the strips d, as shown clearly in Fig. l.

The pendant-s c, in consequence of being coniposed of two strips with aspace between them, admit of the bees passing from one side of thecomb-frame to the other, and also serve as a guide for a bar, D, bywhich combs cut from other hives may be i'astenedin the comb-frames, andthe removal of drone-combs allowed, as well as the straightening ofcrooked combs.

The bars c are attached to one of the walls, A, the other wall beingprovided with a pin, h, at each side, to tit into any of a series ot'holes -in the bars c. By this means a greater or less number ot' framesB may be inclosed between the walls A A, and the hive enlarged orcontracted as desired.

To the outer side ot' the lower part of each wall A there is attached alateral shed-like projection, E, which serves as a protection for thebee-entrances fX at the lower ends of the Walls A A, and in the frontparts of the pro? jections E there are placed adjustable doors composedof two bars, g g', which are connected by a screw, 71., said screwpassing through an oblong slot, fi, in one of the ba'rs, to admit of theadjustment of the saine to enlarge or contract the opening at the frontof the shed-like projections E. (See Fig. 1.)

These shed-like projections E, it will be seen,serve as supports orbases for the walls A A.

F represents the sparehoney boxes, which are placed on the tops of thecomb-frames B. These boxes have glass sides and a slot, j, in theirbottoms to admit of the bees passing into them. To the under sides ofthe tops ot' the boxes F there are also secured waxed cords k, whichinsure the building of straight combs by the bees. These spare-honeyboxes are covered by a cap, G, the lower edges ot' -which rest on cleatsZattached to the outer whennecessary. This is an importantfeature,

as the hive may be divided and two colonies of bees formed from one.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent,is

1. The application of waxed cords f to frames B and to the spare-honeyboxes, to insure the building of straight combs, as set forth. 4

l 2. .The combination of the cap Gand case H, with the sparehoney boxes,Walls A A, and comb-frames B, all arranged substantially as and for thepurpose specified. d

T. F. BINGHAM.

Witnesses: d

HENRY S. STEBBINs, CHAs. HENRY.

